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Lung Cancer

More than 220,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with lung cancer each year. While smoking remains the leading cause of lung cancer, the disease is growing among non-smokers.

The Swedish Cancer Institute cares for more than 500 lung cancer patients each year. If you have lung cancer, our multidisciplinary team will work together to make sure you get the best treatment available and the support services you and your family need.

Our team of specialists includes oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists and thoracic surgeons. Our thoracic surgeons are renowned for their skills. They offer both traditional and innovative treatments, including robotic lobectomy – an exciting new procedure for treating early stage lung cancer.

Diagnosing Lung Cancer

People with early stage lung cancer may have no symptoms at all. Over time, symptoms appear that may include:

Fatigue

A persistent cough that worsens over time

Coughing up blood

Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Wheezing or hoarseness

Repeated lung infections

Build-up of fluid around lung

Most people are referred to Swedish's thoracic oncology team when something abnormal shows up on an X-ray or CT scan. Biopsies are performed to extract a small amount of tissue that is evaluated under a microscope by a pathologist.

Staging Lung Cancer

Cancer falls in stages 1 through 4, with 1 being the earliest stage. Establishing the stage of the cancer is key to providing the best possible treatment.

Staging involves determining:

The type of lung cancer

Where it is located

How aggressive it is

If it has spread

Where and how much it has spread

The specialists at the Swedish Cancer Institute have the widest range of staging technology available, including:

CT imaging: to identify any masses in the chest, and whether they affect lymph nodes

PET scans: to see if there is cancer in other parts of the body

Bronchoscopy: to allow physicians to look at the lungs through an instrument inserted down the airway

Mediastinoscopy: to allow surgeons to biopsy lymph nodes around the airways

Treating Lung Cancer

Surgery is usually the best option for patients whose cancer has not spread beyond the lungs. Removing a part of the lung is called resection.

Lungs are made up of various sections called lobes; the right lung has three lobes and the left has two. Typically, when treating early stage lung cancer, an entire lobe is removed. This procedure is called a lobectomy.

Options for lobectomy include:

Thoracotomy: making an incision on the side of the chest and accessing the lungs by spreading the ribs

Sternotomy: splitting the breast bone and opening the chest to gain access to the lungs

Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS): operating through multiple small incisions in the chest while viewing the surgical area on a flat screen

Robotic lobectomy: operating through small incisions in the chest using flexible instruments that mimic the human wrist, while viewing the surgical area in three dimensions

Swedish is one of the few centers in the Northwest that offers robotic lobectomy. Patients who have a robotic lobectomy typically experience:

Less pain

A shorter hospital stay

A quicker return to daily activities

When diagnostic tests reveal that lung cancer has spread beyond the lungs, treatment plans typically include some combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

The Swedish Cancer Institute offers a full spectrum of treatment, care and services, from promising new research trials to counseling and other patient support.